Dying for the Truth (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 4)

Dying For The Truth

A Rockcrest Cove Mystery Series

Book 4

Emily Page

Copyright © 2015 Emily Page

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher

Chapter One

It was late morning and Maddie was finally able to slow down as the last of her early customers made their way out the door, heading on their way to their morning destinations. Some were on their way to work, others to school, and still others were making their way to all sorts of parts unknown.

Maddie breathed a sigh of relief as the rush died down and she and her workers could finally catch a breath. The shop had now been in full swing for almost five hours. From the time she opened her doors at five until just before ten, the flood of customers had been non-stop. She took a careful glance over at her newest employee, Christine, who seemed to have fared well through the most of it.

She gave herself an inward sigh of satisfaction and looked around her storefront. “Why don’t you all take a break?” she announced to the crowd. “After break, Christine can work on the front store and the rest of you can help to restore and restock the kitchen.” She surveyed her kitchen, which by now was in complete disarray, so Maddie was well aware that a break was all that she was able to take. Before long, new customers would be coming in and she would have to be ready. With her employees busy cleaning up the front of the store, Maddie could concentrate on preparing her next batch of cupcakes for the afternoon crowd.

This was the time when she could really get involved with her craft. It was during the times she baked that she could come up with her best ideas and her creative side shone through. So involved with her new cupcake recipe, she hardly noticed the tinkle of the bells that announced a new customer had entered the store. But her thoughts were interrupted when she was pulling a tray of piping hot cupcakes from the oven and Christine came into the kitchen.

“Ms. Maddie.”

Startled, Maddie nearly dropped the entire pan on the floor. “Oh, my gosh,” she said with her hand over her heart. “You almost frightened me out of ten years of my life,” she exclaimed. She panted a few times, trying to catch her breath once again. “What is it?” she finally was able to ask, getting her thoughts back in check.

“You have a customer.”

“Oh, Christine. I’m busy right now. Can’t you handle it?”

“Sorry, ma’am. He asked specifically for you.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Christine said. “He’s waiting in front.”

Maddie gave a frustrated sigh and looked down at her fresh batch of cupcakes. There just never seemed to be any time these days, she thought to herself. “OK.” She said, “Tell him I’ll be there in just a minute.”

Christine turned and quietly left the kitchen, and Maddie reluctantly put her tray of cupcakes on the counter. They needed to cool anyway before she could put her famous toppings on. She removed her apron and absentmindedly patted her graying hair before pushing the doors of the kitchen open and walking into the store.

Pushing back a strand of her tousled hair from her face, she froze in her tracks as she recognized her visiting customer. Chief Connors was peering into her display case of delightful delectables and didn’t seem to notice that she had come into the room. Maddie gave Christine an inquisitive glance and a discreet point as if to verify that this was the person looking for her. She and Connors had crossed paths on several occasions, and the results were never very favorable. A knot immediately formed in her stomach as she realized that his presence in her store did not bode well for her.

“Chief.” Maddie approached him, trying desperately to hide her inhibitions.

“Ms. McDougal,” he said, raising his large, bushy head.

“I have to admit, I never expected you to be coming to my store. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I was just curious about your cupcake display here,” Connors said, pointing at the more than twenty different cupcakes Maddie had available. “That’s quite a collection to offer. Very unusual, don’t you think?”

“That’s what keeps bringing people back to my store. We offer much more than the usual here.”

“I can see that,” Connors said. “What’s that pink one over there called?” he asked as his finger identified one on the top shelf in the corner.

“That’s one of my favorites,” Maddie said proudly. “It’s called Pink Passion. The secret is a dash of Amaretto oil in the frosting.”

“Sounds exotic.”

“It is. It’s actually one of my specialties, and it’s the one that is most in demand.”

“I can imagine so,” Connors replied, still studying the contents of the case.

Maddie watched the man studying her case. “Would you like for me to pack some up for you?”

“Absolutely,” Connors said, reaching into his back pocket.

“How many would you like?” she asked as she turned to get the cupcakes from the case. Just as she was about to reach in, she caught the glint of silver out of the corner of her eye. She blinked for a moment, trying to match her perception with what was happening. She slowly raised her eyes to see Connors standing over her with a pair of handcuffs in his hands.

“Ms. McDougal,” he said as he opened the cuffs in front of her. “I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Evan Foster.”

A crash was heard across the room as Christine stared in shock at what had just happened. She had dropped an entire tray of pastries and looked thoroughly confused. Likewise, the weight of the words had yet to make their full impact, but enough of the significance had left Maddie completely speechless as she tried to process his words.

“You’re kidding, right?” Maddie asked in disbelief.

“Not at all,” Connors responded. “And thank you for explaining the ingredients to your cupcakes. It will go a long way in your prosecution.” Before she could react, he quickly grabbed her arms, twisted them behind her, and cuffed her hands behind her. Maddie, still reeling from the shock, stood rooted in place, completely motionless and speechless, her face emotionless and without expression as she tried desperately to process what was happening.

Chief Connors turned to Christine. “I need you to pack up a dozen of those…what did you call them?” He asked, “Pink Passion cupcakes?” He gave her a gloating smile before turning back to Christine. “Box them up for me. They’ll be used in lab testing for possible toxins.”

Maddie quickly began to recover from her shock, and her mind was already formulating a plan of action. While Connors was beginning to Mirandize her, she called out instructions to Christine. “Ask Rachel in the back to phone Bailey and tell her what’s happened. Tell her to meet me at the station.”

Bailey was in class when her phone rang. She quickly glanced at the number on the caller ID and punched the silent button before looking around, embarrassed that the call may have interrupted the professor’s lecture. Declining the call, she turned her attention back to the speaker, but the same caller again distracted her thoughts almost immediately. She studied the number once again but was unable to identify the ‘unknown caller’ once more. She refused the number a second time, but the same thing happened again. Realizing that her caller was quite persistent was beginning to cause her some alarm.

Unable to stop the insistent caller and her curiosity peaked, Bailey quickly grabbed her phone and slipped out into the hallway to answer it.

“Who is this?” she snapped into the phone.

“Bailey. I’m so glad I caught you. This is Rachel from your gran’s bakery.”

Fear jumped into her throat as she recognized the voice. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s Ms. Maddie. She’s been arrested.”

Bailey’s heart felt like it was stuck in her throat. It was difficult to get the words out. “What! What on earth for?” she managed to get out.

“For the murder of someone named Evan Foster.” Rachel was trying to catch her breath and maintain her composure at the same time.

Bailey could hear the fear and concern in her voice. “All right Rachel,” she said. “Give me all the details.” She listened carefully while Rachel explained everything that had happened. “Ok. Ok. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything. Can you handle everything at the store?”

“That’s just it. The store’s been closed for the rest of the day. The police are going through it. We can’t get in.”

Bailey made an inward groan. Not again. It seemed like every time things started to go well for her gran, this would happen.

She hung up the phone and stood there trying to decide what to do. Her class was letting out now so there was no reason to go back. She glanced at her watch and decided to scratch the rest of the day. She had to go and get her gran out of jail. A shudder went through her; the idea of her gran being arrested was absurd, but when she’d found out that Connors was behind it all, she knew she would need help.

Quickly she made her way across the campus grounds to the criminal justice department, where she knew she could find a good source of help. Eleanor was not in class at the time but was in her office going over class papers. She looked up, surprised to see Bailey coming through the door in such a state of anxiety.

“Bailey, what is it?”

“It’s gran. She’s been arrested.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s that idiot Connors again.”

“Ok. Don’t worry about a thing. Just let me get someone to handle my next class and I’ll take care of everything,” Eleanor said.

“Oh, thanks,” Bailey said, showing intense relief. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” After a few beats, she added, “I already called Kyle on my way over here. He’ll meet us there.”

A few minutes later, Eleanor and Bailey were on their way out of campus, heading toward the precinct.

The police station had that drab and dingy look and smelled just like you would expect when you had years of men hanging around. You could tell that a regular cleaning service came through, but it had been years since anyone had given the place a deep cleaning. Maddie had been only in the station for a short while when she noticed her entourage coming through the door. She gave a small inward smile to herself as she realized that the inept Connors would be no real match for her and her team.

A quick glance at Connors’s face told her everything she needed to know. She went through the processing a little more confident than she was only a short while ago. She knew she would only be inconvenienced for a little while before her friends would have her out.

After processing, she was ushered into the same holding cell she had been in a few years ago when her good friend and employee Emma was murdered. A strong sense of déjà vu came over her as she remembered that time, which now seemed so long ago. Overcome by a mix of emotions, Maddie wrestled with her own feelings. Not only was she being accused of one of the most heinous crimes possible, she was considered a suspect in the death of a long-time rival. While she felt comforted by the support of her friends coming so quickly to her aid, it was hard to not take what had happened seriously.

She didn’t know just how long it was before Deputy Fellows came, almost apologetically, to her cell, directing her to one of the interrogation rooms for questioning. She knew Bailey, Eleanor, and Kyle were there, but she didn’t know where. She was ushered into a room where she sat behind a small table. A glass of water sat on the edge, and a small device she assumed was for recording her comments was sitting nearby.

How antiquated, she thought. Clearly Connors had not kept up with the times and had not yet upgraded to the more modern devices used for recording conversations. Figures, she thought to herself. It didn’t matter; she had been through this phase of an investigation before. She knew in her heart of hearts that they wouldn’t have enough evidence to hold her just yet. This was merely a scare tactic that she knew would never work.

Connors entered the room with an impressive display of force, but Maddie was well aware that he couldn’t possibly have any evidence against her. She met his piercing glare with an equal forcefulness that forced him to break off his gaze and look down at the table.